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SUPREME COURT UPDATE
Justices Consider College’s Case Against HHS Mandate, Request Supplemental Brief
On the morning of Wednesday, March 23, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Zubik v. Burwell, in which Thomas Aquinas College and 34 co-plaintiffs challenged the federal government’s HHS Contraceptive Mandate. President Michael F. McLean and the College’s general counsel, Quincy Masteller, witnessed the proceedings inside the Courtroom, while Vice President Paul J. O’Reilly joined numerous alumni and members of the Washington, D.C., Board of Regents at a rally outside the building.
“Our attorneys from the Jones Day law firm did an outstanding job, and we were honored and grateful to have our case heard by the Justices of the Supreme Court,” said Dr. McLean. “I also want to thank all who joined with us across the country in our Day of Prayer and Fasting for the success of our case.”
Less than a week after the hearings, the Court took the highly unusual step of asking both sides to file supplemental briefs in the case. On April 12, the College's attorneys filed the brief, declaring, “There is no reason for the government to insist, on pain of massive penalties, that petitioners abandon their sincerely held religious beliefs when the government can achieve its ends through other means.”
Story & slideshow from hearings and rally
Hearings transcript & audio
Attorneys File Supplemental Briefs
Archive of related stories
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Members of the Thomas Aquinas College community rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court.
President Michael F. McLean and College Counsel Quincy Masteller descend the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building.
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“UNANIMOUSLY COMMITTED”
Alumnae Make the Case for Religious Freedom at Supreme Court Rally
While the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the College’s case against the HHS Mandate, Women Speak for Themselves organized a pro-religious freedom rally just outside the building. Among the speakers were two alumnae of the College, Meghan Duke (’08) and Elizabeth (McPherson ’99) Claeys.
A former managing editor of First Things who is now a writer in The Catholic University of America’s Office of Marketing and Communications, Miss Duke spoke about her time volunteering for the Little Sisters of the Poor, who have become the focal point of the national debate surrounding the case. Mrs. Claeys, who is chairman of the Washington, D.C., Board of Regents, spoke about the importance of the Catholic faith to the life and mission of College.
That same morning, the Rev. Nicholas Callaghan (’96), a priest serving the Archdiocese of New York, offered the 7:00 a.m. Spy Wednesday Mass for the Sisters of Charity at their convent in the Bronx, New York. At Fr. Callaghan’s request, the Sisters agreed to name the College and the case as the intention of the Mass. They also offered an “emergency novena” immediately afterward. “This, as you may know, was a hallmark of Bl. Teresa, nine Memorare prayers said in a row,” explains Fr. Callaghan. “It was her go-to solution in moments of crisis and is held in high esteem by the sisters.”
May these prayers bear great fruit!
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Meghan Duke (’08)
Elizabeth (McPherson ’99) Claeys
Rev. Nicholas Callaghan (’96) |
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THE TEACHING CHURCH
College Officials Meet with Members of the Roman Curia
Last week a delegation of Thomas Aquinas College officials visited numerous members of the Roman curia, seeking their counsel and apprising them of the state of the College’s Supreme Court case against the HHS Contraceptive Mandate. “We typically visit Rome every year or two,” says President Michael F. McLean. “We see these trips as a way to affirm the College’s fidelity to the teaching Church and to benefit from the wisdom and encouragement of its leaders.” Joining Dr. McLean on the journey were his wife, Lynda, Chairman of the Board of Governors R. Scott Turicchi and his wife, Lannette, and Governor Lloyd Noble II.
While in the Eternal City, the delegation met with various friends of the College, both old and new, including several past Commencement Speakers. One, His Eminence Giovanni Cardinal Lajolo, President Emeritus of Vatican City State, hosted the group for breakfast at his residence after offering a Mass for the College in the Chapel of the Choir at St. Peter’s Basilica.
“A ‘heavenly thing,’” said His Eminence in his homily, referencing St. John’s Gospel, is “being here together today, united in the love of God, under the eyes of His Mother and ours, Mary, with ‘one heart and one mind,’ together with all the students, staff, faculty members, and benefactors of Thomas Aquinas College.”
Full story
Text of Cardinal Lajolo’s homily
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College officials with His Eminence
Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops ...
... and His Eminence Giovanni Cardinal Lajolo, President Emeritus of Vatican City State
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FAITH IN ACTION
Highlights from the College’s Alumni Blog
• Four years ago, as she was wrapping up her Senior Thesis, Kayla (Kermode ’12) Six was recruited by the insurance conglomerate WellPoint for a process-consulting position at its Thousand Oaks headquarters. Four years later, WellPoint is now called Anthem, Mrs. Six has risen to the position of sourcing manager, and she has been named to the supply-chain industry’s list of “30 under 30 Rising Stars.”
The list “highlights the accomplishments of rising supply management professionals” under the age of 30.
• In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, KOLO 8, the ABC television affiliate in Reno, Nevada, put together a segment about Sierra Silverstrings — a local Irish band whose members are children of Eve (Bouchey ’97) and Jeremy McNeil (’96). “When people say you play together, you stay together, it’s kind of true, because we were friends, but now we know each other better,” young Brigit McNeil says in the video. “It’s hard to explain. It connects us. We play together and, when you play music, it’s such a joyful thing to create those sounds with each other.”
• To mark the end of the recently concluded Year of Consecrated Life, the Vatican hosted an international symposium, “Consecrated Life in Communion,” which culminated in a February 1 audience with His Holiness Pope Francis. Among those in attendance — and privileged to meet the Holy Father personally — was an alumna of the College and a consecrated virgin, Rev. Miss Therese Ivers, JCL, OCV (’03). When asked what she said to Pope Francis, Rev. Miss Ivers replied, “I simply said, ‘Holy Father.’ He asked me to pray for him, and I asked for his prayers. That was it, and he blessed me.”
Faith in Action blog
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Kayla
(Kermode ’12) Six
Sierra Silverstrings, featuring the children of Eve (Bouchey ’97) and Jeremy McNeil (’96)
Rev. Miss Therese Ivers, JCL, OCV (’03) and His Holiness Pope Francis
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SUMMER LEARNING
Upcoming College Seminars and Events
After the last vehicle rolls off the Thomas Aquinas College campus following Commencement; when the residence halls, once teeming with students, grow quiet; when silence briefly replaces Socratic discourse in the classroom buildings, it may seem as though the intellectual life of the College has slipped into a summer’s hibernation.
In reality, the intellectual life of the academic year has merely given way to a very different, albeit still vibrant, sort of intellectual life. This summer, as usual, Thomas Aquinas College will offer a wide range of conferences, seminars, and other academic opportunities for its friends and benefactors. Follow the links below to learn more about these events:
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First Things “Intellectual Retreat”
Los Angeles
“The Search for Happiness”
May 21-22 |
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The Importance of the Philosophy of Nature
Aristotelian-Thomistic Studies Conference
June 16-17 |
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The Person and Economic Society
Social Doctrine Conference
June 17-19 |
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Suffering: The Christian Response
The 2016 Summer Seminars
June 24-26 and July 15-17 |
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St. Thomas Aquinas: On God's Justice and Mercy
at the Napa Institute Conference
Napa, California
July 7 |
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